tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27924468473519338912017-02-08T20:55:09.209-08:00The Unapologetic Truthon everything from social/political commentary to sports and entertainment news. It all affects our thinking and our mentality has to change before we can change the world. *Posts are subject to frequent updates, so stay current!*Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-30677228556764680842012-05-17T11:21:00.002-07:002012-05-17T11:21:46.059-07:00A Letter To My Most Influential Teacher<br /><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Because I am now old enough to be friends with a lot of teachers/educators and those with such aspirations, I wanted to share this letter that I recently wrote to one Mr. Cedric Magee in the hopes that it will inspire.</div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dear Mr. Magee,</div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I wanted to send you a personalized graduation invitation just to let you know how much you have meant to me over the years. I'll try to do so without taking up too much of your time. Due to a clerical error in the days before I was to start the 6th grade, I was not assigned a 6th grade teacher. Luckily, my mother and I had come to the school the Friday before classes began (as was our custom back then) and we had met a few of the teachers, including you. I had never had a male teacher before, so the choice was an easy one to make. Little did I know, it would turn out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I got much more than a male teacher when I joined your class. I got a friend, a mentor, an ally, and a role model. In a society that didn't resemble what my parents and spiritual leaders were steering me to become, I finally was able to see an example in action. From watching and closely following your lead, I began to realize that being a righteous gentleman was not only possible despite what others around me did, but it could be "cool," too (and that's a very important lesson for a young man to learn). I found that there is an appeal to be gained by being a respectful and respectable male (and an African-American male, at that) that is completely unmatched. Furthermore, I was able to see how much time, hope, and influence you invested in me and in my success (including a College Algebra book that you began to work through with me a bit as I prepared for the ACT that year; I wish I had used it more). Now that you are a principal, I know that your job may seem quite thankless as the young people, parents, and educators you seek to empower may not always realize the value of your work. For that reason, I'd like you to know that I appreciate who you are. Your integrity, your dignity, your hard work, and your unwavering consistency over the years are very valuable and rare personality traits which I strive to emulate every day. More importantly, I'd like to thank you for being my blueprint and to apologize for failing to tell you these things more often over the years. Most importantly, however, I hope this message provides some encouragement to continue to do what you've always done. I guarantee you that someone is watching you, patterning himself or herself after you, and will be able to reach great success in large part due to your influence and example. Thank you for adding value to my story.</div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">&nbsp;Yours truly,</div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">&nbsp;Christopher James</div>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-33681116172416902022012-05-08T21:47:00.001-07:002012-05-08T21:47:49.827-07:00Google Site - Funnel Cloud Stereo<br /><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/funnelcloudstereo/">Funnel Cloud Stereo</a>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-6725511649504685932012-05-08T21:46:00.000-07:002012-05-08T21:46:12.653-07:00Me, 2.0: 4 Steps To Building Your Future<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jNSnaUachn0/T6n2aUuqskI/AAAAAAAABbQ/epAxlg5smmk/s1600/schematic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="359" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jNSnaUachn0/T6n2aUuqskI/AAAAAAAABbQ/epAxlg5smmk/s640/schematic.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />First, let me start by saying out of the couple of book options I had originally posted, I can certainly see why this book was chosen as my assignment. It incorporates nearly everything we've talked about in class in the framework of personal branding. The author, Dan Schawbel, has a natural talent for personal branding, marketing, and brand development and he utilized those to determine that he has a passion for all of the above. In his book, he details the steps toward crafting one's very own personal brand.<br /><br />This seems to mainly incorporate planning and deliberate, strategic moves both online and offline. Schawbel suggests that your brand has already begun developing, as the emotions and traits expressed with the brands that you select and endorse help to define you and how you come across. Thus, you must choose your brands and products carefully, and make sure they are consistent with what you want to say. From there, he talks about developing a strategic plan for yourself, complete with short-term and long-term objectives and a personal brand statement. From these, one knows just how to market himself or herself. Next, it's time to get busy on the Web - specifically Web 2.0. Social networking is very important here, and should be consistent with the personal brand statement from status updates to pictures, to friends. Schawbel also recommends blogging, learning HTML, and networking - including personal e-mails to bloggers and journalists who write articles important to your field of study or interest. Keywords, search engine optimization, social networking, and the more traditional things such as appropriate attire, interviewing, and communication/interpersonal skills all culminate in developing a powerful personal brand.<br /><br />Chapter 6 is all about actually creating your brand. Specifically, it speaks of online brand presence, from how to create a resume, video resumes and podcasts, and digital portfolios to distinguish your online presence from the countless others out there searching for jobs or networking online. Further, it suggests that everyone learn HTML programming or use basic tools to create a website, and suggests that websites will soon take the place of resumes. After this, the chapter delves heavily into blogging; what it is, why it's important, how to do it, and how to get the most out of it. Again, specifically he says to e-mail bloggers personally with compliments on an article you found useful. He also suggests posting interviews with your favorite bloggers (by e-mailing them questions). It is also important to evaluate the competition in order to find a niche as well as to emulate key features or aspects of the successful blogs in hopes of repeating their success. After that, he talks a bit about social networking profiles and how Avatars are important, as are real names. He suggests personalizing these things as much as possible and making them professional and consistent (i.e. your LinkedIn page should have the same picture as your Facebook page and they should have the same name), making you easier to find. Finally, Schawbel says that it is important to be consistent with one's online persona during offline interactions.<br /><br />I don't disagree with much that the author said here, except that he talks about using a real name in place of a username in order to gain marketing leverage. It seems that a username that contains elements of one's given name but also shows personality or highlights a certain strength can make one stand out even more and may be even more distinguishing than using an actual name, especially if the name is a fairly common one. Beyond that, the author seems fairly redundant throughout the book, coming back to a lot of the same themes and saying some of the same things in different ways.<br /><br />If I were not using an established site for my project, I'd be able to use a lot more of this information to help with it. I think I could use a lot more eye-catching and attention-grabbing graphics and words to get my points across and show some Internet credibility. Also, due to the use of Google sites, my use of Web 2.0 to distinguish the site and product idea are limited. That means that the Google site used for this project will likely only serve as a template for my product, which I actually do intend to attempt to develop and pitch in the near future.<br /><br />Building my blog into a public speaking platform which allows me to do events and talks around the country is a dream that I have had since coming to college. Because of the detailed list of steps and methods for building a blog in this book (and especially the press kit tip), I think I may be able to succeed to some degree in making this dream a reality.<br /><br /><br />Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-88069031259165789552012-03-30T21:25:00.003-07:002012-03-30T21:30:29.680-07:00Programming<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ji9oc-kDDOQ/T3aHWQk0nHI/AAAAAAAABLE/8DHDaIqh_IA/s1600/Codecademy-232530.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 207px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ji9oc-kDDOQ/T3aHWQk0nHI/AAAAAAAABLE/8DHDaIqh_IA/s400/Codecademy-232530.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725912792724446322" /></a><br /><br />Reading the article about Codeacademy and then beginning to use it made me very glad that I signed up for this course! These are things that I always wanted to learn, but honestly thought I needed to be formally trained in (say, for instance, by taking a college course or receiving some sort of certification) before I could properly use them with confidence. There are so many things that I'd like to take a stab at with this information that I will probably dedicate a great deal of my summer to learning as much about programming - developing code which allows one to execute commands. The Codeacademy is a free web service that teaches anyone who wants to register and learn about programming, from the basics all the way up to the tough stuff. Because I am a procrastinator extraordinaire, I have not had enough time to complete the JavaScript lessons yet, but I think I have just found my new favorite site!Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-30493819509243173302012-03-30T21:16:00.003-07:002012-03-30T21:25:03.908-07:00iNetAs far as the Internet goes, all I had ever heard of was the APRANet which I believe is dated at 1969 by most accounts. The most important piece of the process of transmitting and receiving data is the protocol, or rules, that the Internet uses. These include TCP/IP and multiple other acronyms that allow our computers to send data to each other that is readily interchangeable and transferable. I never thought so much about how interdependent and universal online data must be in order to get our information from point A to point B so quickly and seamlessly. Both videos as well as the lecture did a good job of covering the importance of protocol and packets, smaller sequences of data that the larger information parcels we consume are broken down into. One thing which was left out of the lecture that I would've included is the Dot-com bubble and its subsequent burst. Before this point, a lot of people speculated in websites without true business models (or at least without good ones). After the bubble burst, the Internet was able to progress and to become better than ever because of clever problem-solving and useful products and services which were better for people to understand and consume. Going forward, the most important developments will be those which optimize smartphone and tablet browsing and apps, making the Internet even more efficient and useful on the go.Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-32101394677958427832012-03-30T20:03:00.002-07:002012-03-30T20:33:29.050-07:00CMS and the Beauty of the WebWhat's the beauty of the web, you ask? For TWT (Techies Without [formal] Training) like me, it's that nothing has to be as hard as it may initially seem. There are always all sorts of ways to 'skin a cat,' as the saying goes, and CMS provides us with some tools that allow us to develop premium web content without taking the time to memorize or use tons and tons of code. Of course, knowledge of code is still extremely useful, but it isn't absolutely necessary anymore. Enter Drupal, open source software that even some of the biggest and baddest entities on the Web (such as the White House and Sony) use as we speak. It's free stuff! Incredible what you can do with a bit of tinkering, all thanks to the fact that one of the hallmarks of noncriminal Techie culture is to make using the Web a nearly universally accessible experience. Just finding out about such developments make the task of developing a site seem so much more feasible.Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-52634894712562159232012-03-30T19:49:00.004-07:002012-03-30T20:02:13.867-07:00Infosec - Things That Make You Go Hmm....Mikko Hypponen is an excellent speaker. His first video, about the three types of online attack, really provide very sobering commentary and thoughts about Internet crime and how serious (and lucrative) it can be. As our world becomes more and more digital, it really is bothersome to think that there are a few people or organizations out there with more skills than entire populations who rely on the technology these skilled individuals like to tamper with. Also, it seems to be quite the losing battle to fight, although a very necessary one.<br /><br />With his second video, on fighting viruses and defending the net, we got to see how complex the issue of internet crime can be, and the type of thinking and resourcefulness it takes to fight it. As he spoke about a more concerted global effort to fight internet crime, Hypponen brought to mind my favorite book series as a teenager, <span style="font-style:italic;">Tom Clancy's Net Force</span>. This group was an online government agency comprised mainly of hackers as well as military forces who worked together to fight online criminal organizations and individuals. There was even a TV movie made of the series, which was discontinued after about 8 - 10 books, which I still have. I wonder if the INTERPOL or other such organizations could draw from Tom Clancy's imagination to develop the type of force needed to fight internet crime?<br /><br />As far as SOPA and PIPA are concerned, a lot of today's great techies (Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page) have reached rockstar status. These guys have the means to alter our lives, truly, if they want to, and a great many of them <a href="http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2012/01/18/dark-wednesday-in-protest-of-anti-piracy-legislation/">did just that</a> in response to Congress's mulling over of those two bills. Because of their very widespread influence, I never did get too concerned that either of these would actually pass. That also brings a book to mind, though (although, one has to extrapolate greatly from the book to think of this). <span style="font-style:italic;">Fahrenheit 451</span>, by Ray Bradbury, was about censorship, but through the burning of books. Could censorship of the Internet provide the government with the same means of control of the masses and seriously decrease our quality of life, bringing about a dystopian society (perhaps I read too much)?Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-1335300379559212132012-03-30T19:09:00.003-07:002012-03-30T19:17:50.527-07:00HTML - "This is a line of text" = "See Spot Run"<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EQjANdFVNUk/T3ZoWP2ivsI/AAAAAAAABK4/u7RKyuPwdC8/s1600/W3Schools%2BQuiz%2BTest-210539.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 407px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EQjANdFVNUk/T3ZoWP2ivsI/AAAAAAAABK4/u7RKyuPwdC8/s400/W3Schools%2BQuiz%2BTest-210539.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725878707669876418" /></a><br />The review on barrycumbie.com was nice and informative while remaining concise. However, that video was painfully basic and elementary. I know not everyone has HTML experience, but as the title denotes, I think the video was the equivalent of See Spot Run. Anyway, the W3Schools site was very good, and I am really enjoying all of these resources that will allow me to shore up my skills in the areas of programming and HTML. One can never be too marketable these days!<br /><br />View Source is a tool that can be accessed from the dropdown menu on most Web browsers. It shows the source code for a particular Web page, and could probably be used to design a web page which emulates or draws from elements of an existing page. It could also be used to kind of reverse-engineer a page in an effort to learn HTML.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-34230024509551939712012-02-15T17:54:00.005-08:002012-02-15T21:06:35.036-08:00Structures - Barry Cumbie<table><br /><tr><br /><td>Type</td> <td>Example</td> <td>Connotation</td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>Firm</td> <td>DSP Start-Up</td> <td>Because this firm was developed within a fraternity, making it a firm seems to note that there is no undue focus on any individual member.</td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>Political Party</td> <td>“Rent Is Too Damn High Party”</td> <td>For a political organization, this name seems to be the only one that would provide legitimacy.</td><br /></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>Nonprofit Organization</td> <td>Boys and Girls Club of America</td> <td>Seeking to help mentor, develop, and benefit children without charging their parents makes this just about the only type of organization that makes for Boys and Girls Club.</td><br /></tr><br /><td>Multinational Terrorist Organization</td> <td>Al-Qaeda</td> <td>Al-qaeda – translated “the base,”an organization that spans multiple nations and tries to create wreak havoc</td><br /></tr><br /><td>Team</td> <td>Los Angeles Lakers basketball team</td> <td>A group of people who join together for a common goal, usually with each member specializing in certain aspects of reaching that goal (i.e. Kobe Bryant – scorer, closer; Andrew Bynum – shot blocker, rebounder)</td><br /></tr><br /><td>Comedy troupe</td> <td>Holy Ghost Players</td> <td>Group of individuals who work together to do impromptu comedy, playing off of one another and adding humorous content, hence their name</td><br /></tr><br /></table>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-78783612767523238062012-02-15T10:38:00.009-08:002012-02-15T11:28:49.395-08:00The One Stop Shop For Urban Wear - Barry Cumbie<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cAaShK8YGwQ/TzwHZaG5iWI/AAAAAAAABCs/RmWgmWWGKv4/s1600/Buy%2BBeats%2BSoloTM%2BHD%2BHigh%2BDefinition%2BOn-ear%2BHeadphones%2Bwith%2BControlTalk%2BMen%2527s%2BAccessories%2Bfrom%2BBeats%2Bby%2BDr.Dre.%2BFind%2BBeats%2Bby%2BDr.Dre%2Bfashions%2B%2B%2Bmore%2Bat%2BDrJays.com-123607.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 227px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cAaShK8YGwQ/TzwHZaG5iWI/AAAAAAAABCs/RmWgmWWGKv4/s400/Buy%2BBeats%2BSoloTM%2BHD%2BHigh%2BDefinition%2BOn-ear%2BHeadphones%2Bwith%2BControlTalk%2BMen%2527s%2BAccessories%2Bfrom%2BBeats%2Bby%2BDr.Dre.%2BFind%2BBeats%2Bby%2BDr.Dre%2Bfashions%2B%2B%2Bmore%2Bat%2BDrJays.com-123607.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709446560685328738" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span><u><br /></u></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span><u><br /></u></span></div><span><span></span></span>NOTE: The design constraints of my blog make it difficult to see the picture. However, if you click the picture, then right click the image overlay that appears and open it in a new tab/window, you should be able to see the image as large as originally intended.<div><br /></div><div>DrJays.com has been one of my favorite sites for a long time. I first came to the site because I was looking to spend money from my summer job on some "fresh threads" to wear to school. <div>Anyway, the site is an online urban clothing retailer, so it targets those who subscribe to the hip-hop subculture, and the many subcategories thereof: athletes, preps, skaters, dancers, etc. </div><div>The site is known for its sales, as they are typically much better than any deal one can find on the top notch brands in bricks-and-mortar stores. The sales are not for one item, but discounts typically increase or decrease depending on the amount spent (usually one percentage for under $100 and a higher percentage for over $100). By using these sales - which usually have restrictions (i.e. discounts don't apply to certain brands like Nike or Beats by Dre, which is pictured above) - DrJays can entice customers to spend more. Of course, there is also a countdown timer (although by now, most regular customers are aware that a very similar sale will be up within minutes of the deadline). I don't know how they do it, but the site continues to offer the best selection and quality of clothing/accessories for "hip hop heads" at incredibly low prices. The site also features a blog, celebrity interviews, contests, and social networking accounts including Instagram, where the site encourages customers to tag DrJays and take pictures wearing their new clothes. With great product pictures, product specs, and many different forms of "entertailment" as well as memberships, exclusive deals, newsletters, and responsive customer service, DrJays is far ahead of its competition in providing the best in urban wear.</div></div>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-56782429342669398252012-01-25T18:40:00.000-08:002012-01-25T18:41:13.960-08:00Warm Up Activity - Barry Cumbie<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> 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</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">In “The Myth of Monotasking,”author Cathy Davidson discusses attention spans in the new digital era. She seems to be very complimentary of the new age and ready to do away with the old way of doing things (focusing on one task until it is completed and then moving on to the next one). In fact, Davidson even says that we are more productive when we take social networking breaks and so on. I find it hard to believe that anyone takes “social networking breaks.” What may start off as a break probably becomes an all out social networking binge (which may or may not be interrupted by study breaks). I think there may have been some valid points in her argument, but she seemed a bit too yielding to a generation that, in many ways, can be very lazy and entitled. I agree that laziness can breed inventions and innovations, but I think old-school discipline (and attention) is the best way to develop leadership.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In “Social Media’s Untapped Power” a strictly-for-laughs comment by the moderator became the subject of what I think is the most promising and striking content within the entire podcast, “gamification” and the productivity of games and entertainment. Both Piskorski and Bradley point to the possibility of having great collaboration occur through games. Later, they discuss finding a way to give people what they want in a way that raises your company’s bottom line – a rather old concept, as the moderator points out. It seems that the only thing that has actually changed in business over the past several years is what customers want and the different models and methods by which this could raise a company’s bottom line.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Despite my argumentative tone on the first paragraph, I think the two ideas presented in these podcasts go quite well together. People work better when there are distractions or multiple things happening at once, refreshing the brain and inspiring creativity. Using the info from the second paragraph, it seems that one could inspire a great deal of productivity from making work into a game or distraction itself. The next big break in business may indeed be finding a way to embed learning or working into fun instead of separating the two. As much as people enjoy and find ways to entertain themselves (or at least procrastinate) these days, turning such practice on its ear and giving it an actual purpose would undoubtedly revolutionize business as we know it.</p>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-501600884378488972009-09-11T12:05:00.000-07:002009-09-12T08:48:34.426-07:00YOU LIE!<i>There's no way you didn't hear about this one. No real explanation necessary for what you are about to see. Just watch it.</i><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TxHKSHvMRWE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TxHKSHvMRWE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br />So, Republican Congressman (Representative) Jim Wilson from South Carolina - yup, South Carolina again, the same state that brought you Jim DeMint and Mark Sanford - yelled "You lie" to the President during his speech on health care. Right in the middle of the speech. That was childish and disrespectful. What makes matters worse is that Wilson called the President a liar when he said that illegal immigrants would not be receiving free health care under the new plan. The proposed legislation prohibits free health care for illegal immigrants and may instead require them to purchase health care although they are not American citizens. So by calling President Obama a liar, Wilson proved a liar himself. Wow. In fairness, many conservatives do argue that illegal immigrants may receive sizable government subsidies which will make it quite easy for them to purchase the health care. That's different from free health care for those without citizenship, and any national politician should be more dedicated to drafting and compromising on proposed legislation than he is to making outbursts in the middle of prepared speeches. <br />I would stop there, but I cannot. Wilson made one of those apologies that politicians are becoming so known for. In my opinion, these types of apologies are worse than the offenses that make them necessary as they are an insult to the intelligence of the American people. He knew that he believed what he said and meant every word of it. So why apologize? Either stand by your actions or shut up and control yourself. There's nothing I find quite as stupid as after-the-fact restraint. He went even further than that, however. He tried to defend himself. Those who are truly repentant for what they have done do not try to defend their actions. Instead, they accept responsibility for them and dedicate themselves to learning and growing and refusing to ever make such actions again. Nevertheless, here's Ol' Joe.<br /><object width="320" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://vp.mgnetwork.net/viewer.swf?u=5e2ab230ef73102cbc4d001ec92a4a0d&amp;z=CBD"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://vp.mgnetwork.net/viewer.swf?u=5e2ab230ef73102cbc4d001ec92a4a0d&amp;z=CBD" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="295"></embed></object><br />First of all, did anyone else notice that he said he got a call from the leadership asking him to apologize to the President? If that's his only reason for apologizing (and it is certainly the only reason he cited), it's nowhere near good enough and further proves my point that these types of apologies are insincere and insulting. He got shaky at the end when asked about the fact that his Twitter account seemed to indicate that this was a premeditated outburst, as well. He then says that his response was spontaneous and was triggered by President Obama's remark that illegal immigrants would not be covered under the new health care plan. Wilson suggests that this angered him because of two bills that had been proposed where illegal immigrants would receive coverage. He said just before that, though, that both of these bills were voted down. Wouldn't that fact suggest that there was no need for his outburst because the bills that caused it were no longer on the table? Seriously, after all the credit that President Obama gave to Republicans (especially John McCan) and the proposals, ideas, and issues that they had contributed to this - wouldn't you think that if HE (assuming that he was responsible for including the provision about illegal immigrants, which he may not have been and probably was not) had at one time planned to cover illegal immigrants, he had received the message from the GOP and changed his mind?<br />To sum things up, I will say what I said to a friend of mine earlier this week. If I had been president at the time, I more than likely would have challenged Wilson to a charity boxing match on the front lawn of the White House so that I could get my retaliatory jabs in with no guilt. I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, too. Freedom of speech - when exercised in the middle of my speech - comes at the steep cost of a few fists to the face. Otherwise, wait your turn.Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-34878208787292359602009-09-11T10:32:00.000-07:002009-09-12T07:37:33.083-07:00The Significance Of Obama's Education Speech to Young People<i>I'M BAAAACK! </i><div><i>I know it's been awhile, but I've had a whole lot going on lately and even more that will be going down in the near future. I have to make the time to do this because it's important to me even though very few actually read this blog at all. No honor without sacrifice. Here we go.</i></div><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3iqsxCWjCvI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3iqsxCWjCvI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br />As most should already know, President Obama made a speech to schoolchildren this week about the importance of education. Before he was able to make the speech, a minor political firestorm ensued. You had right-wing conservatives claiming that the speech would be a political one, an attempt to brainstorm the children and indoctrinate them. People like Senator Steve Russell from the great state of Oklahoma.<img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SqqWhGUNjhI/AAAAAAAAANU/zQiJn0X48X0/s320/russell.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380278200222715410" /><blockquote>"As far as I'm concerned, this is not civics education - it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality. This is something you'd expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam Hussein's Iraq."</blockquote><br /><br />Oh, really? That's wbat you think of when you think of Saddam Hussein? TELLING KIDS TO STAY IN SCHOOL!!!!??? Russell certainly deserves to help draft legislation that affects the entire country with a rationale like that. Cer-tain-ly.<br />Now someone who would like to attempt to defend this garbage of the brain might say something to the effect of, "<span style="font-style:italic;"> Hey, this was before the speech. He didn't really know what would be said, take it easy!</span><br />That person would be right about one thing: At the time when this and many other severely partisan comments were made, no one knew what was contained in the speech. My common sense tells me that this is all the more reason for a person to shut the you-know-what up. Obviously, as an electorate, we don't truly value common sense anymore. That brings me to my overarching theory: We are to blame for politicians who disappoint because we lack the foresight or correct criteria to put the right people in office (more on that at a later date). A person who will say things like this and believe them should not be elected in the first place. If you'll put the cart before the horse in criticizing the President, who knows what you will do in the actual drafting of legislation?<br />Of course, he wasn't the only one to criticize the President. One PTA president said that the President is cutting out the parent by airing the speech during the day, suggesting that instead he should have waited until the evening when the children would be home so that they could watch the speech with their parents. Read the full story <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32673334/">here</a>.<div><br /></div><div>Riiiight. So the timing was wrong, that's it. That's why you're against</div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SqqcbddeSKI/AAAAAAAAANc/W_4ZRKXkZQE/s320/greer.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 260px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380284700426127522" /><div> it? Did it ever occur to anyone that President Obama may have wanted to speak directly to schoolchildren so that he could get the point across that education is really serious? As in,<span style="font-style:italic;"> "Wow, the president is talking to us about getting educated and how important it is to this country. I think I'm going to take my education more seriously."</span></div><div>This particular PTA president said that the timing should be considered because most parents agree with this message and could be right there to echo the president's sentiments. If it's what they already say, why wouldn't they want someone else to reiterate the positive message to their kids? </div><div>Plus, Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer accused the President of trying to spread his "socialist ideology." I'm still waiting on someone to define socialism and make a clear argument about why the President fits that definition. </div><div>Once again, all these remarks and decisions were made before the release of the transcript.</div><div>After the speech was delivered, Greer took back his statements about the President. </div><div><br /></div><div>Why am I talking about this?</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm glad you asked. I think that President Obama's speech is indicative of what his presidency will be. There was a political firestorm in the days leading up to it, but the actual speech quieted the critics and turned out to be just what we needed. The people who made these inflammatory statements looked utterly stupid afterwards. Similarly, there are people who still participate in partisan bickering as well as fear and hate-mongering in speculation about what decisions our President will make. These people will continue to participate in these things and try to create fear and panic in the days leading up to the enaction of certain policies and legislative attempts. After MOST of the actual plans, legislation, and policies are carried out - people will realize that things did not turn out to be as bad as they seemingly wanted them to be. In fact, they will most likely find out that there was no basis for their fear or rhetoric at all and that MOST of the plans that he has are just what the country needs. Let it be known that any individual that is willing to put his mind, body, family, and friends through the overwhelming stress of running this country in the midst of several crises and problems should not have his patriotism and intentions for this country challenged and questioned on the basis that our current president does. There didn't seem to be such distrust of the president's intentions (maybe his actions, but not his intentions) during the last presidency. What makes this president so different from any other (don't answer that)? Oh, and where was all of this criticism when Ronald Reagan spoke directly to schoolchildren back in 1988 (the year I was born)? Hmm...</div><div>This was truly partisanship at its worst. Yes, partisanship was hard at work here - which explains why a <a href="http://www.wiredprnews.com/2009/09/10/district-refused-to-air-obama-education-speech-will-bus-students-to-hear-bush_200909105701.html">certain school district</a> chose not to air President Obama's speech but instead bused students to hear a speech by President Bush. <span style="font-style:italic;">Stay in school, pursue an education instead of an entertainment career. Don't bank on the fast road to riches. Instead, be willing to work and study hard to reach a successful point in your life.</span></div><div>Quite a controversial message, indeed.</div><div>It turns out that those who thought they were protecting their children were the main ones who actually have quite a bit of growing up to do.</div>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-14446535030779330212009-08-22T22:30:00.000-07:002009-08-24T09:55:10.527-07:005. The adverse social effects of the instant gratification we have always known from our consumer products and machines<span style="font-style: italic;">Part 5/7 of the series. It's amazing how the thoughts that you have in your head seem to come up from other sources in daily life, isn't it? I was just in my Business Ethics class, where my professor showed the class a video of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. (which I will post below). He then asked people about taking an ethical oath. Most of the students had a problem with said oath because they want to reach success and wealth as quick as possible, which leads me to the point of this post.</span><br /><br /><table style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="265" width="320"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229);" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;" colspan="2"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-12-2009/mba-ethics-oath">MBA Ethics Oath</a></td></tr><tr style="height: 14px; background-color: rgb(53, 53, 53);" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 360px; text-align: right;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(150, 222, 255); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><embed style="display: block;" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:240958" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000" height="265" width="320"></embed></td></tr><tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><table style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" width="100%"><tbody><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes">Daily Show<br />Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-17-2009/heal-or-no-heal---medicine-brawl">Healthcare Protests</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Is it just me, or does it seem that no one real<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SpDpW1LMklI/AAAAAAAAANE/G7_tguSbddQ/s1600-h/Click.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SpDpW1LMklI/AAAAAAAAANE/G7_tguSbddQ/s200/Click.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373050933893435986" border="0" /></a>ly wants to put time and effort into what they do anymore? Laziness is a universal phenomenon, if you ask me (and once again, for the slow, if you're reading my blog you're asking me). I mean, we cut all kinds of corners, pull all kinds of stunts and tricks, and utilize all kinds of fine print manipulations in order to get over on one another. In fact, I'd say we spend so much time trying to get over on each other that hardly anyone has anything worthwhile anymore. We don't realize that good things come to those who wait, and that anything worth having is worth working hard for and investing time in. Nor do we seem to understand that with our work (no matter how menial or lowly the task) we make statements to society about ourselves. Therefore, it is best to take pride in one's work (once again, no matter how non-glamorous the job is). The whole thing reminds me of the movie "Click," where Adam Sandler's impatience (along with the technological advance of a remote control that could control time) caused him to miss the most important things in life.<br /><br />It's the same thing with any MBA student (which I will be in a few more years). We want success, wealth, fame, and fortune to come IMMEDIATELY! The fact is that it comes with years of dedication, focus, drive, and hard work. So why is it that we want these things to come so fast? Where did all our patience go? The answer is that our patience went AWAY. It went away because we very seldom use it, and therefore don't seem to need it. I say that because for Generation Y-ers, there have always been certain luxuries and accommodations available. Personal computers existed all of our lives, as did calculators and microwaves. The world wide web took over while we were in grade school. By junior high, everyone had a cell phone. We love technology because it provides instant gratification, so in general we've never really had to wait very long for things. If you look at the state of morals and interaction in society, we seem to be suffering from the fact that we expect the same type of instant gratification from all aspects of life, including relationships.<br /><br />Case in point, people are killing each other because they won't cooperate sexually. Like Lil' Kim's <a href="http://brownsista.com/lil-kim-throws-a-killer-party/">birthday party</a> last year or the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32292246/">health club shooting</a> earlier this summer. The culprit at Lil Kim's party (most likely dubbed The Jumpoff by her and her entourage) bludgeoned a lady to death because she had resisted his sexual advances. The culprit in the health club shooting was angry with women in general because he had only scarcely had sex and was not attractive to any of the ladies that he was at<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SpDvBMz5PSI/AAAAAAAAANM/bbwRy-UxyNA/s1600-h/a_beautiful_mind_5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SpDvBMz5PSI/AAAAAAAAANM/bbwRy-UxyNA/s320/a_beautiful_mind_5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373057159350795554" border="0" /></a>tracted to. I'd say that things like this happen because we want instant gratification (and by that I mean IMMEDIATE SEX) from our relationships. It's sort of like the film, "A Beautiful Mind." Russell Crowe, who played the main character and Nobel prize winning economist John Nash, goes up to two women during the course of the movie (one who slapped him and dismissed him and one who became his wife) and said some variation of the following: <blockquote>"Traditionally, there are a series of courtship and mating rituals that we both know will eventually culminate in the two of us having sex. Would you mind if we just skipped those traditional rituals and formalities and got straight to the sex?<br /></blockquote> I'm paraphrasing in the above quote because I could not find the actual lines in order to quote them here, but - if you've seen the movie - you know that's pretty much what he said. Those scenes in the film perfectly illustrate my point: we get everything else we want with the quickness and we want that to translate over to interactions with the opposite sex.<br /><br />It doesn't stop there, however. Look at education. The fact is that the majority of students do not want to study or read for any class. I remember taking a sophomore Economics class last year. The policy for this particular class was that anyone who had over a 95 average after the last regular exam would be exempt from the final. I had a 100 average and was therefore exempt from the final. A girl came up to me after class that day, and asked for my help with studying for the final. I told her the formula that I follow to get good grades, which goes a little something like this: <span style="font-style: italic;">Come to class, take notes, define/know/study any and all terms, read all assigned chapters, study the notes days in advance, and ace the test. </span><span>She replied, "You ain't gon' help me?" I answered, "I just did."<br />She didn't really want "help." What she wanted was some kind of quick fix to learn weeks and weeks worth of material for the final exam (an exam, mind you, which it had just been announced that I did <span style="font-weight: bold;">NOT </span>have to take). My experiences having been in school for the past 15 years are an obvious indicator that the young lady is not alone. Many of us don't want to put the time in to really learn, we're used to pointing and clicking. We want to download something or type in a code and have every answer to every question on every test. We want A's without doing A work. We want to come to class when we feel like it and retain enough information from that to ace any test while continuing to watch our favorite TV shows, go to every party, sip something before every "last call," and do any and all of the other things besides</span><span> education that college has become known for. </span><span>It doesn't work that way, time and effort have to be put into studying and academics. Until we realize that, I shudder at the thought of the futility of even the most aggressive education reform. I also shudder at the thought that some of these very slackers will be business owners, doctors, lawyers, etc. who want to put the same effort (or lack thereof) into their actual work as they did into their preparation for it. Because all of us are clients or customers of these types of professionals at some point, the vast majority of us may be doomed. I'd hate to say it like that, and I hope that won't be the case. Furthermore, I know that there are many students (myself included) who are very focused on their goals, on academics, and being the best students and eventually professionals - in any</span><span> field</span><span> - that they can possibly be. However, as I said to a friend the other day, I find it hard sometimes to understimate the depth of the ignorance of the overwhelming majority of this generation. It's as simple and plain as that. I don't know of another way to put it.<br /><br />If we don't put time, pride, and effort into what we do, then no one benefits from what we do at all. We can't build fruitful relationships, develop substantial attention spans, actually retain information, or honestly (and therefore without consequences) reach the goals of success that we have set for ourselves without patience. I'm not asking anyone to throw away their laptops, iPhones, or any other technological innovations. I <span style="font-style: italic;">am</span>, however, asking us all to demand more discipline and patience from ourselves on a daily basis. After all, we all deserve relationships, products, services - and ultimately, <span style="font-style: italic;">lives</span> - that are worthwhile.<br /></span>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-73470733396636930372009-08-18T10:28:00.000-07:002009-08-19T09:51:51.534-07:004. Either our inability - or perhaps, our refusal - to think things through and consider the consequences before making decisions<i>Part 4 of the series. It's been awhile since my last post, I know.</i> <i>I've been getting settled in and ready for the new school year. I've only been back on campus a few days, but I'm already disappointed in some of the things that I'm seeing here. Folks are wasting no time trying to get their party/freak on. It amazes me because I think about the hardship that families go through trying to provide a way for their kids to go to college. Some of these people may be first generation college students and whatnot, but their minds are not on the tremendous amount of hope that their families have in them. They're distracted by the booty, the (al, al al al, al) alcohol, and other vices.</i><div><div><br /></div><div>Which leads me to this very topic. WE don't seem to be able (or wi</div><div>lling) to think things through and weigh the consequences of actions before we <i>do </i>them. If we did, we might think about the health risks that come with reckless freaking. We might also realize that condoms and birth control only do so much to prevent risks and that the only</div><div> risk-free way to go is abstinence. Better yet, we may realize the consequences of giving up on education and the subsequent road to self-empowerment. We may also realize the traps that come with lives of crime, using drugs, or doing anything by less-than-honest means.</div><div>How does the saying go? <i>Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.</i></div><div>Most of us have heard this saying before, yet we don't live by it. We see other people in our families, neighborhoods, schools, and graduating classes make the same mistakes and yet it doesn't deter us. What the heck is really going on? How can one have a friend that messed up his future with drugs and never have it occur to him that the same will happen to him unless he makes a different choice? Who's using their brains out there? Plenty of people are, I know, but we certainly don't seem to be the majority by a long shot. </div><div>The results and consequences of our actions are always pending. Always, no matter what. Some people call it karma, other people call it reaping what you sow. No matter what the name, the concept is the same. There is always a consequence for every action. Here is the requisite hip-hop quote. This one is from Nas's 2001 classic album, "Stillmatic" and is aptly titled, "What Goes Around." I couldn't really slice this one down to a neat quote, so I'll give you the whole last verse.<img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SosF5CqsArI/AAAAAAAAAMs/N-WY6vzcGHI/s320/nas.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371393458096046770" /><blockquote>"This nigga Ike with the Iverson jersey, light-skinned with herpes<br />Fuckin' sisters in Harlem, Brooklyn and D.C.<br />This is the problem cause he never tell 'em he got it<br />from lettin' fags suck him off, Rikers Island in nine-three<br />Drives a Benz, hangs at all the parties, all the concerts<br />Backstage where the stars be, rockin' they shirts<br />in bitches faces like clockwork - what's your name, where you from?<br />Chain blingin', thinkin' girls everywhere is dumb<br />Takin' pride in ruinin' they lives<br />So they could never have babies, and they could never be wives<br />He never used a condom, give him head he got ya<br />Met the wrong bitch and now he dead from the monster AIDS<br />I contemplate, believin' in karma<br />Those on top could just break, and won't be eatin' tomorrow<br />I know some bitches who be sleepin' on niggaz dreams, they leave<br />When that nigga blow, she the first bitch on her knees<br />Knowin' dudes that's neglectin' they seeds<br />Instead of takin' care of 'em they spendin money on trees<br />I pray for you, deadbeat daddies<br />Cause when them kids get grown it's too late for you<br />Now you old and you gettin' shitted on<br />It's all scientific, mystic, you know the Earth and the stars<br />Don't hesitate to say you heard it from Nas<br />What is destined shall be<br />George Bush killer 'til George Bush kills me<br />Much blessings be healthy, remember..."</blockquote></div><div>Now like the other parts of this series, this one directly relates to the others that came before it. The absence of fatherhood - if fathers were around to provide discipline and structure like only a father can, many of us may have already realized the truth about consequences and would be self-disciplined by now. The stronghold that the mainstream medi</div><div>a has on our culture and our desires to be socially accepted - we're raised by the televisions, our peers, our neighborhoods, and ourselves. These influences very rarely impose consequences on us nor provide structures or boundaries. Therefore, we don't look into the future and reason out the outcomes that our actions will bring. Stop snitching - why do they want you to stop? So they can do what they do with - you guessed it - no consequences. </div><div><br /></div><div>We'd have to fix those problems in order to deal with those who are out of school. I think that one of the ways that we go about this is calling it what it is - STUPID. It is simply STUPID to do the same thing that so many others have done before us and think that it will be different when it happens to us. We have to oppose the forces that would have us believe that we should accept these things or that they are adequate lifestyles and decisions. They aren't. Not learning from the mistakes around you is stupid.</div><div><br /></div><div>We have to expect and encourage our young people <b>NOT </b>to follow in the same footsteps as those whose lives have become negative influences for them instead of allowing so many of them to use their environments as excuses. Almost everyone who is anyone in this world had to overcome bad neighborhoods and various hardships. Those things are only excuses for those who allow them to be - for the most part. The secret is that sometimes you have to grit your teeth and refuse to fail. By that I mean that you refuse to stop working, stop trying, stop learning, or stop growing. Even when everything in your life is working against you. Instead of looking at those things as major obstacles, you should look at them as scenes from your life that will make your story more interesting for people to read (or watch on a film). We've all got to have drama in our lives to make our success stories all the more sweet, unique, extraordinary, and rewarding. No more excuses, it is time for us to realize the truth in those words and act on it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also, anyone who realizes that they messed up and wants to atone fo</div><div>r it should take neighborhood youths and young adults through a day or week in their lives. Such an exercise would have the purpose of allowing young people who think they want to live a certain way or make certain choices to see what those lifestyles and choices are really like. Not the glossy, big-screeen, glamorized version. I'm talking about the real, struggling, crying, "make me wanna holler" version that so many people are faced with because of bad decisions. </div><div><br /></div><div>For those who are in school, I have another possible remedy: All students, starting in junior high, should be required to play chess and take lessons from chess coaches/experts. Why, you ask? It's simple. Because chess is a thinking man's game. In chess, the only way to win</div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sot82WHevCI/AAAAAAAAAM8/m8tTAVK9QFw/s320/chess.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 220px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371524253661183010" /><div> is to think and plan ahead. <i>If I move here, he could move there and put me in check. I</i></div><div><i>f I move there, he could move here and put me in checkmate. If I move here, I can put him in check. </i>Then, of course, you go with option 3. I believe that the foresight and critical skills that can be developed through learning about and playing chess are transferable to life decisions, and that the youth overall (although not everyone individually, of course) would benefit and become better decision-makers. There would probably be less deliquents in our generation as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Philosopher John Locke once described those who refuse to think things through. In his <i>Second Treatise of Government, </i>Locke says,<br /><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SosGHf6BfvI/AAAAAAAAAM0/K2LBMVpdskA/s320/john-locke.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 232px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371393706463166194" /><blockquote>"Sec. 10. Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injury done to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has, besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a particular right to seek reparation from him that has done it: and any other person, who finds it just, may also join with him that is injured, and assist him in recovering from the offender so much as may make satisfaction for the harm he has suffered."</blockquote><br />That's fancy talk for <i><b>you have the right to whoop the a-word of a person who acts like they have no common decency or sense and just wants to continue to commit crimes and infringe on your right to live and enjoy your own life and possessions</b>.</i> I say take his advice and fight back. In the meantime... play chess, ladies and gentlemen.<br /><br /><br /></div></div>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-68624276962986284022009-08-13T17:34:00.000-07:002009-12-17T13:41:05.712-08:00MICHAEL VICK IS GOING TO PHILADELPHIA!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoSzC_tsVAI/AAAAAAAAAMc/BnvFF8x7y0I/s1600-h/michael-vick.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoSzC_tsVAI/AAAAAAAAAMc/BnvFF8x7y0I/s320/michael-vick.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369613519776666626" border="0" /></a><br />Hallelujah, hallelujah! To any bitter dog lovers out there who are upset because of my enthusiasm for the Brotha's return, read the title (of the blog, that is) and realize that I DO NOT APOLOGIZE. PERIOD. I wrote <a href="http://unapologetictruth.blogspot.com/2009/08/plaxico-burress-is-going-to-jail.html">earlier</a> about the hypocrisy of the legal system and the league concerning this matter, and am glad that he'll be back on the field. Go to jail for 15 days and get suspended for a year for killing a man, go to jail for 2 years and STILL face further suspension for killing dogs? Meanwhile, as Steve Harvey put it in his stand-up film, "Still Trippin,'" cops go home after killing Sean Bell? I'm sorry, the message was wrong - and <span style="font-style: italic;">that'</span><span style="font-style: italic;">s</span> why people in the urban community have been waiting, hoping, and praying for Michael Vick to play again. That urban community includes me. Yes, I said it. So there. Sick your dog on me if you dare.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoSzmppfxjI/AAAAAAAAAMk/baM7xQSJglI/s1600-h/PhiladelphiaEagles_logo_wEagles_ghostBG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoSzmppfxjI/AAAAAAAAAMk/baM7xQSJglI/s320/PhiladelphiaEagles_logo_wEagles_ghostBG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369614132328777266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Anyway, the brotha signed a 2 year contract to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. McNabb and Vick on the same team? The possibilities are endless. People thought he would only get one year. SIKE! 2 years, and I guarantee you that if he is productive during his first, there will be extensions offered. Get your jerseys now, people. Eagles just became a team to watch. Thank God for the NFL channel - I don't ever have to miss a game. Oh, and be sure to catch Michael Vick on <span style="font-style: italic;">60 Minutes</span> this Sunday night where his interview - conducted by sports correspondent James Brown - will be aired.Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-69943792361798766572009-08-11T19:53:00.000-07:002010-01-07T13:35:30.812-08:00From "Lollipop" to Now: Which Generation Has The Better Message?<span style="font-style: italic;">As is the case on many a day, this post is inspired by a video. Here's the video in question.</span><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ijH3cRJ1BY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ijH3cRJ1BY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed><a class="sesxvelleojarxuejulm" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ijH3cRJ1BY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"></a><a class="sesxvelleojarxuejulm" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/-ijH3cRJ1BY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"></a></object><br />The main premise of this post is focused on the lyrics of the 1958 song, Lollipop, which actually has quite a peculiar and telling <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lollipop_%281958_song%29#Origins_of_song">racial context</a> which I was not previously aware of until tonight after a little research. I'll sum it up for all link-avoiders. The song was originally performed by Ronald and Ruby, a duo made up of a Black lead singer and White songwriter. The song began to take off and television appearances were booked. Once people found out that they were dealing with an interracial performing duo, they canceled those appearances and the popularity dwindled - pretty much killing the song. Yeah. Wow. Reflect on that and whatnot. Move on when ready.<br /><br />That's not my problem with the song. My problem is that when I listened to the dated lyrics of the record, I didn't hear much of a difference from the message that pervades rap music <span style="font-style: italic;">AS WELL AS</span> all of popular culture to this day. <span style="font-style: italic;">There's this girl that looks really nice and seems to exist merely for my sexual pleasure and enjoyment. </span>Don't think so? Let's look at the lyrics to <a href="http://www.6lyrics.com/music/ronald_and_ruby/lyrics/lollipop11.aspx">"Lollipop."</a><br /><blockquote>"Call my baby lollipop<br />Tell you why<br />Her kiss is sweeter than a cherry pie<br />And when she does her shaky rockin' dance<br />Man, I haven't got a chance"</blockquote>What's the difference between that and <span style="font-style: italic;">I love to see that sexy b**** in the club shakin' that @$$? </span>What's the difference between that or a song about some dimepiece sliding down a pole and giving a man a lap dance? One of them uses profanity and one of them does not. The message is the same. <span style="font-style: italic;">I'm aroused by a woman and care absolutely nothing about what's in her head or her heart. I just wanna know what's in those pants (and in many but not all cases, "them draws").</span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoJDWsefAnI/AAAAAAAAAMU/hlGTLBndHEM/s1600-h/warrant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoJDWsefAnI/AAAAAAAAAMU/hlGTLBndHEM/s200/warrant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368927762954257010" border="0" /></a>Mind you, I could say something here about the reference to cherry pie, w<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoJDOX3tkDI/AAAAAAAAAMM/c0ty8NhNJng/s1600-h/lil_wayne.gif.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 114px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoJDOX3tkDI/AAAAAAAAAMM/c0ty8NhNJng/s200/lil_wayne.gif.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368927619983970354" border="0" /></a>hich now seems to be a precursor to rock band Warrant's infamous and innuendo-laced <a href="http://www.elyrics.net/read/w/warrant-lyrics/cherry-pie-lyrics.html">"Cherry Pie."</a> However, no one can really predict the future. We can't blame them for that. We certainly can't blame them for <span style="font-style: italic;">Lil Wayne's </span>"Lollipop," either - which featured the infamous "I let her lick the (w)rapper" line. Back to the matter at hand, though. The title of the song is "Lollipop." From the very beginning, the woman is objectified - she's likened to a piece of candy, her kiss to a cherry pie, and the song is all about the pleasures felt and lusts satisfied by her. Yes, the song communicates this idea in a very innocent, nice, and polite way - with no vulgarities and a lot left to the imagination. However, as is my point, the message is the same.<br /><br />Let me stop right here and acknowledge the fact that the song was covered by a girl group, The Chordettes. The lyrics were altered to make the song about a guy. That version of the song became more popular than the first. It's still objectification, no matter which sex is involved. But doesn't it say something about our culture that for advertisement purposes, the executives and creative minds at work passed on the most popular form of the song to go for the one in which the female is the tasty object?<br /><br />I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I criticize my generation a great deal. Many older people criticize us as well. Many people have something to say about the messages and images that come from our music and talk about better times before the music got so rotten and the images and messages so devious. Shouldn't we do a little research to see how far back our blame (and the proper damage control) should reach?<br /><blockquote></blockquote>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-12001022465950256392009-08-11T14:39:00.000-07:002009-08-11T15:57:23.383-07:00This Is Funny: Training Day Spoof<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHnQgfEMpI/AAAAAAAAAME/n2SR3pTKz9c/s1600-h/training_day.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHnQgfEMpI/AAAAAAAAAME/n2SR3pTKz9c/s200/training_day.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368826501586498194" border="0" /></a><br />Now for a break from all of the sociopolitical commentary and discussions on race relations, hip hop, and the mental corrosion brought on by the media. Some of you like that, some don't. Not to worry, I'll be back on it soon. As for right now - I'm sorry, this is too funny for words. I found it posted on <a href="http://www.hiphopdx.com">hiphopdx.com</a> and I know all you<span style="font-style: italic;"> Training Day</span> lovers will appreciate it, for sure. Here's a hint. Common gets all types of punked by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, probably best known as Fogell, or McLovin, from <span style="font-style: italic;">Superbad</span>. Common and McLovin. It's already funny!<br /><embed src="http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf?nowmode" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swliveconnect="true" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="e=4bffc0037b3a3a49328d685cccfc7c21cc002973d57a44951a38fddf065f5c696a66be9b89ee2d2f0947d4e15d253124c7d296b9a2a5d695fdd446d15f64f11765e4802775ea9f34f6c9db1402967dbf383ccf85d3b0fcebe03d&amp;width=450&amp;height=350&amp;pid=hh005&amp;autostart=false&amp;allowscriptaccess=always&amp;usefullscreen=true&amp;esnapshot=4bffc0037b3a3a493b90685cccfc7c21cc002973d57a44951a38fddf065f5c696a66be9b89ee2d2f094ccde2702233248cc9a0a8aebcc79fe69f41915b25e61c7cbbca6029b1db28f5c3dc02019727e06f&amp;trueurl=undefined" width="400" height="350"></embed>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-53810142035558549962009-08-11T12:02:00.000-07:002009-08-11T13:05:54.293-07:00Oprah In The Ghetto: The World Is Coming To An End<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBDRP4ToI/AAAAAAAAALc/VXffEADsFX4/s1600-h/jayz-oprah-on-grandmas-stoop-450x337.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBDRP4ToI/AAAAAAAAALc/VXffEADsFX4/s320/jayz-oprah-on-grandmas-stoop-450x337.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368784492716117634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBDAvBawI/AAAAAAAAALU/Btj0QZQ-eco/s1600-h/jay-z-oprah-grandma-stoop-2-450x297.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBDAvBawI/AAAAAAAAALU/Btj0QZQ-eco/s320/jay-z-oprah-grandma-stoop-2-450x297.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368784488283335426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBC2CCA-I/AAAAAAAAALM/I32uTnWuc2k/s1600-h/jayz-oprah-450x337.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBC2CCA-I/AAAAAAAAALM/I32uTnWuc2k/s320/jayz-oprah-450x337.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368784485410276322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBCvwo8DI/AAAAAAAAALE/CU2hs3mY1P4/s1600-h/jay-and-oprah_rr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHBCvwo8DI/AAAAAAAAALE/CU2hs3mY1P4/s320/jay-and-oprah_rr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368784483726716978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Images are from <a href="http://twitter.com/dede_2u">Dede_2_u</a></span>, <a href="http://twitpic.com/dblf2"><span style="font-size:85%;">Iamhope64</span></a>, <span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://rapradar.com/">RapRadar</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/FuckKeriHilson">FuckKeriHilson's twitter</a></span>. <span style="font-size:85%;">I know, interesting name, right? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">First of all, let me say that being a Mississippi native, I know all about Oprah's rags to riches story. I am not implying that she has never known the stories, faces, and experiences of poverty. She certainly has. I'm just saying that I think it's been a while since she's been to the projects. I, for one, didn't think she'd ever return. Jay-Z's stock is rising, it seems. The reports are that he is to be a featured guest on an upcoming episode of <span style="font-style: italic;">Oprah.</span> For all those who said she hates hip hop, she obviously has a problem with some of the lyrics and messages (as do I and rightfully so) but she doesn't seem to be denying the importance and reach of the genre. Although, on the other hand, I do have to say that we see a lot more representation of other genres than we do R&amp;B and hip hop on her show. Plus, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Story?id=2025897">Ice Cube</a> was not invited when all the other cast m<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHMWJHYLzI/AAAAAAAAAL0/_tHagsZe9K8/s1600-h/barbershop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHMWJHYLzI/AAAAAAAAAL0/_tHagsZe9K8/s200/barbershop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368796911578394418" border="0" /></a>embers of <span style="font-style: italic;">Barbershop</span> were on the show. We all saw how the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/04/20/ludacris-oprah-edited-out_n_19458.html">ish</a> went down<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHMemPHcmI/AAAAAAAAAL8/g3ZpQQ9pk5o/s1600-h/crash_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoHMemPHcmI/AAAAAAAAAL8/g3ZpQQ9pk5o/s200/crash_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368797056834433634" border="0" /></a>with Ludacris when he and the ensemble cast of <span style="font-style: italic;">Crash</span> were on to talk about their amazing film (and I do mean amazing, if you haven't seen it, check it out). Yeah, Oprah has done some questionable things regarding hip hop on her show. However, the key words are <span style="font-style: italic;">her show.</span> She can do whatever she wants with it and have whoever she wants on it. Those who don't like it shouldn't watch it - for decades now there have been more than enough people who have and who will.<br />Anyway, she's going to the hood with none other than Jay-Z, whom many consider the "Best Rapper Alive" or the "Greatest of All Time" (I disagree, and I'm sure everyone knows by now who <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nas">my favorite rapper</a> is). He's taking her on a tour of his old stomping ground, Brooklyn's own Marcy Projects where he and his friend and fellow (although mediocre at best) rapper, Memphis Bleek are from. Oprah and Jay-Z also spend time sitting on his grandma's old stoop. They both seem to be having a great time. She doesn't seem to be in culture shock, as some of her critics might suggest, but seems perfectly comfortable and happy (they have a pretty large entourage with them, which probably factors into the comfort and happiness). Should Beyonce (and her big ego) be worried?</span>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-25547212278253609532009-08-11T11:39:00.000-07:002009-08-11T11:58:09.308-07:00My Mama TOLD Me Jennifer Hudson Was Pregnant!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoG7Uk-0OJI/AAAAAAAAAK8/l_X2LLRbBxk/s1600-h/jennifer_hudson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoG7Uk-0OJI/AAAAAAAAAK8/l_X2LLRbBxk/s320/jennifer_hudson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368778193001265298" border="0" /></a>Yup, yup. <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1618481/20090811/hudson__jennifer.jhtml">MTV</a> reports that Jennifer Hudson gave birth to a happy and healthy baby boy yesterday. The Academy Award-winning actress and certified Gold singer is engaged to David Daniel Otunga, Harvard Law graduate and former reality television star (he was a cast member on "I Love New York" under the name, "Punk"). She named her son David Daniel Otunga Jr. (maybe they will call him Punk Jr. for short?). Hudson never announced her pregnancy (probably because she doesn't like, hee-hee, living under our spotlight, hee-hee), but my mama told me she was pregnant when she sang at the Michael Jackson memorial service. Women know, what can I say. Otunga Sr. has been training to become a professional wrestler and currently wrestles for Florida Championship Wrestling, a sort of 'minor league' organization in which participation could developed into a WWE career (I know what you're thinking, I thought the same thing - what a waste of a Harvard education, right?).Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-891708704702195742009-08-11T11:07:00.001-07:002009-08-11T11:56:46.493-07:00Kanye's Getting His "Denzel On?"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoGzmda92oI/AAAAAAAAAKk/TqwDQPd0y3Q/s1600-h/kanye-west-spike-jonze-fairytale.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoGzmda92oI/AAAAAAAAAKk/TqwDQPd0y3Q/s320/kanye-west-spike-jonze-fairytale.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368769704116476546" border="0" /></a><br />I've said it before, I'll say it again. Do not adjust your computer screen. Kanye West will be starring in a short film directed by Spike Jonze, famed music video and commercial director who was also a co-creator of <span style="font-style: italic;">Jackass</span>. What should we expect from this? I'm not really sure. What I can say is that looking at his track record for doing wacky and off-the-wall things, as well<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoG6O_xtYEI/AAAAAAAAAK0/9394O0DgnX4/s1600-h/kanye_west.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoG6O_xtYEI/AAAAAAAAAK0/9394O0DgnX4/s200/kanye_west.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368776997603205186" border="0" /></a> as Kanye's very artsy and free-spirited imagination, we can all expect it to be one of a kind. Also, the title, "We Were Once A Fairytale" is an obvious reference to the song in which the line is performed. That song, of course, is "See You In My Nightmares," from Kanye's 808s and Heartbreak. Maybe a look at the past can help us to predict the future. Here's "Touch The Sky," the video which, to this day, probably most prominently features Kanye's acting skills.<br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/53NrAbjvL_4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/53NrAbjvL_4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br />Who knows, maybe we can expect a Pamela Anderson appearance, or maybe Amber Rose? One thing's for certain - I'll be watching.Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-11163969883496427192009-08-10T15:38:00.000-07:002009-08-10T19:43:35.043-07:00Another Libido Lynching Attempt<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size:100%;">Well, well, well. Betrayed by Mr. Johnson again. People, I'm telling you. Sex is powerful. Indulge at your own risk. </span></i></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">RIP Michael Jackson. The man's music resonates to this day. The MJ song that fits this particular story goes a little something like this.<br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t4auq5tlUX4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t4auq5tlUX4&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br />That's exactly how this guy felt. The story, found <a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32356700/ns/today-today_people/">here</a>, goes that Older Married Man meets<br />Pretty Young Thing in Starbucks. Older Married Man begins an affair with Pretty Young Thing,<br />which culminates in a divorce from his wife and a marriage to Pretty Young Thing. What<br />Older Married Man, also known as Michael Dippolito, 38, didn't know is that his new<br />pretty young wife, Dalia, 26, was out for that paper. She wanted that guap. She was ready<br />to "just throw it in the bag." So much so, in fact, that she hired a hitman to kill the guy. Morgan<br />Freeman beware, some of these younger women will kill you if they have to so that they<br />can reap the benefits of your labor. You've got to know that his dumped ex-wife is falling over<br />herself laughing at him. <blockquote> "That's what you get. You tried to leave me for your little freak and it almost got you<br />killed. Hahahahahaha! AHHHH, hahahahaha!"<br /><br /></blockquote>Sex is a weapon, folks. I say it time and time again. Keep it in your pants, it could save your life.<br />Here's what this guy said after he realized what was going down.<br /><blockquote>"It hasn't sunk in. I don't really get what happened."<br /></blockquote>I do, Dippolito! Come on, man. You got PLAYED! Screwed, conned, pimped, effed. She never<br />wanted you, she simply seduced you with a few tricks and had a plan to get that cash and kill you.<br />After you left what I have to presume was a good woman for her. You look like a fool on TV.<br />Speaking of fools, here's Miss Pretty Young Idiot herself being arrested.<br /><br /><div><iframe src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/32357094#32357094" scrolling="no" width="415" frameborder="0" height="339"></iframe><p style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-top: 5px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: center; width: 425px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Visit msnbc.com for <a style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153) ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; height: 13px; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) ! important;" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/">Breaking News</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153) ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; height: 13px; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) ! important;">World News</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153) ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; height: 13px; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) ! important;">News about the Economy</a></span></p></div><br /></span><br />Just face it, sweetie. You're going to jail and to a cell with some chick named Big Bertha who will<br />most likely make your life a living hell. After "our boy Mike" comes to his senses and begins to<br />think with the right head, he will undoubtedly see the warning signs he once ignored. Hindsight<br />is 20/20, after all. Stay home with your wives and quit chasing these freaks. Learn from<br />McNair (RIP) and this dude. That lust is a killer. Self-control is the answer.</div>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-27128123166907040032009-08-09T19:10:00.000-07:002009-08-18T10:18:25.878-07:003. The resonance and reach of the "Stop Snitching" campaign<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn-CbE-2c2I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/HjGjmnLsVMw/s1600-h/stop-snitching-logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 288px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn-CbE-2c2I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/HjGjmnLsVMw/s320/stop-snitching-logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368152682554356578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Back for Part 3 of my 7 part series. Part 2 got rave reviews (meaning about 3 or 4 pe</span><span style="font-style: italic;">ople said that they liked it or found it interesting) so hopefully, readers can relate to this one as well.</span><br /><br />First of all, this is truly absurd. You've heard the slogans, "Snitches get found in ditches" or "Snitches get stitches" and the like. You've seen the plain old "Stop Snitchin'" hats, signs, and paraphernalia before as well. In fact, most people have probably seen the following video as well.<br /><br /><object height="265" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wTwipn-Fp_U&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wTwipn-Fp_U&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="265" width="320"></embed></object><br /><br />You knew that was coming, right? Right. We don't seem to think enough of ourselves to know that we deserve to live in safe neighborhoods and to keep the things that we work hard for without worrying about someone breaking in, sticking us up, killing us, or endangering our children. Of course, here are the corresponding rap lyrics, this time from my favorite rapper, Nas. These are from the song "You're The Man" off his 2001 album, "Stillmatic":<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn-HtKZ3NKI/AAAAAAAAAKE/VQ03nuJ5RcM/s1600-h/Nas_N.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 169px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn-HtKZ3NKI/AAAAAAAAAKE/VQ03nuJ5RcM/s200/Nas_N.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368158490805613730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote>"Wish I could flap wings and fly away<br />To where Black kings in Ghana stay<br />So I could get over my flesh right away<br />But that'll be the day<br />When it's peace, when my gat don't need to spray<br />When these streets are safe to play."</blockquote><br />It says a lot about our culture that this mess is pretty much a PR campaign. Not only do we think it's okay to harm one another, kill one another, rob one another. From somewhere, we got the notion that we should also be <span style="font-style: italic;">accommodated </span>by the very community that we victimize as we do so.<br /><br /><blockquote>"Said I'd like to know where, you got the no-tion."<br /></blockquote>Maybe we got it from the fact that in the worst neighborhoods, police tend to take their time reacting to a disturbance? Maybe not. It's highly likely that the racial profiling and police brutality witnessed all over this nation is an important contributing factor to the lack of cooperation from those affected most by inner-city crime. No matter where the notion came from, it's time for me to rock the boat.<br /><br />First of all, we should abstain from acting immorally or illegally because we make statements about ourselves with our actions. Let's go down the list:<br /><br />If you fight someone, you're saying "I'm not intelligent enough to use my words to get out of this situation, nor do I have the self-control or self-discipline to walk away.<br />If you and a group of people jump someone, you're saying "I cannot win in a physical confrontation against this person on my own."<br />If you kill someone or have to use any type of weapon on them without just cause (meaning you were not in a kill or be killed situation), you're saying "I'm afraid to get into a physical confrontation with this person."<br />If you steal from someone, you're saying "I'm not intelligent enough or resourceful enough to make a legal living for myself."<br />If you break in and rob someone while bearing arms, you're saying "I'm not smart enough to enter without leaving a trail, neither am I man enough to take something without a visual aide to help me."<br />If you rape someone, you're saying "I'm not smooth, charismatic, or presentable enough to attract a woman's attention."<br /><br />Are we noticing a pattern here? Good! Apply that pattern to any and all crimes not listed here.<br />Funny what these things actually represent as opposed to how glamorous they look in the media, huh?<br /><br />Now that we've gotten the crimes out of the way, what does refusing to snitch, therefore allowing one's self to be governed by the "Stop Snitchin'" Campaign?<br />There's no list for this one. There's only two things being said.<br />Either "I welcome you to continue to steal from, rob, defraud, harm, or potentially kill me or my family members. I would not cooperate with the police to stop you from doing any of these things because I like having you in my community oppressing me and wouldn't want to put you in jail and keep you from doing this to myself or anyone else. Putting you in jail might also deter other would-be criminals. Can't have that!"<br />or<br />"I do not trust the police to properly deal with you if I cooperate with them and fear for my safety or the safety of my family members if I do. Therefore, although you do oppress this community, I would rather be oppressed than dead."<br />First things first, if the entire community banded together against criminals, there would not be such a fear of them in our communities. Too bad we glorify them, take up for many of them because we know them, or have such a distrust for the police that we cheer for the worst of the worst. We also are under a belief system that there are no other opportunities for a young Black man in America. The fact of the matter is that this is not true. There are plenty of opportunities for us, many of which we don't take advantage of. We're not reading. Many of us are not trying to learn anything. That's why the most lucrative, yet perfectly legal, opportunities seem to evade so many of us. Notice that I used the word oppress in the above statements. We have to come to a point that we see crime in our community for what it is, oppression. The same oppression so many of us accuse "the White man" of everyday. Of course, there are still racists out there who want nothing more than the destruction of minorities. Racism, however, has become more of a taboo in this nation - thus people hide their racist sentiments for fear of being outed and duly punished. Also, would-be oppressors have no more work to do! We do it for them everyday! Why don't we refer to those in our communities who have no respect for us or our rights to live and pursue happiness as oppressors. Next time we say "the White man" is keeping us down, some of us need to look around and see who really hates us for trying to hav<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoAfMvQM5CI/AAAAAAAAAKc/VPqrP44vFWc/s1600-h/Fubu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 189px; height: 121px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SoAfMvQM5CI/AAAAAAAAAKc/VPqrP44vFWc/s200/Fubu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368325059528942626" border="0" /></a>e something, be respectable, and experience the American Dream as well as the upward mobility that comes with it. The fact of the matter is, a great deal of that hatred comes from us. Our hate is for us, by us - just like FUBU. Common chronicled this truth in a song, "Black Maybe," from his 2007 album, "Finding Forever." However, his non-rhyming, casually-spoken remarks at the end of the song are probably most poignant. He says:<br /><blockquote>"When we talk about black maybe, we talk about situations of people of co<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn-WHzzK1qI/AAAAAAAAAKM/ajZlNw4hlqY/s1600-h/common.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 161px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn-WHzzK1qI/AAAAAAAAAKM/ajZlNw4hlqY/s200/common.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368174341756999330" border="0" /></a>lor.<br />And because you are that color, you endure obstacles and opposition.<br />And not all the time from ... other nationalities. Sometimes it comes from your own kind, or even your own mind. You get judged, you get laughed at, you get looked at wrong, you get cited for not being strong. The struggle of just being you.<br />The struggle of just being us... Black Maybe."<br /></blockquote><br />It must also be considered, however, that many of us come from families where ends are not meeting, eviction notices are left, stomachs go hungry, etc. Then it does seem that there is no other place to turn than the street. I understand that, but prison or death looms in the future of that lifestyle. I think all of our families would rather have us safe and struggle than for us to risk our lives everyday so that we can live comfortably. Education is actually the "way out" for us, there just aren't enough of us who act like we know it. Young people who already seek education and knowledge must begin a concerted effort to reach out and recruit others in the community before they fall by the wayside.<br />As far as the police aspect, I said earlier that police and minorities need to come together and admit our wrongdoings and address our grievances in a face-to-face forum between the communities. All questions need to be answered, all issues need to be considered, and all problems need to be discussed in order to lead to solutions. Until such a meeting of the minds happens and until there is an understanding between both groups, "snitches" will continue to get, or at least fear, stitches or worse. Ultimately, we've got to have a resolution in our hearts and minds to once again be our brother's keepers and our communities' advocates - not advocates, friends, keepers, and aides of our neighborhood criminals.<br /><blockquote></blockquote>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-76992056172342510512009-08-09T12:11:00.000-07:002009-08-22T16:20:16.342-07:00From "Driving Miss Daisy" to Dating Granny's Baby?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn8f1mVcs9I/AAAAAAAAAIs/iZGPrseKCWg/s1600-h/HFPA.05.Morgan.Freeman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn8f1mVcs9I/AAAAAAAAAIs/iZGPrseKCWg/s320/HFPA.05.Morgan.Freeman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368044286532957138" border="0" /></a><br />Say it ain't so. Lord Jesus, please, say it ain't so. I might as well stop wishing because all indicators seem to indicate that it is. Why do the things I write in this blog keep coming back to haunt me? I wrote about Gov. Sanford from South Carolina, while mentioning that Mississippi has it's own problems and that I should not go too hard on SC. Next thing I knew, former Mississippi politician Chip Pickering was exp<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9dZkLL9TI/AAAAAAAAAJM/govX0eMvKuo/s1600-h/leanonmespch3-01.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 102px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9dZkLL9TI/AAAAAAAAAJM/govX0eMvKuo/s200/leanonmespch3-01.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368111974637630770" border="0" /></a>osed by his wife in her divorce filings because he was having a similar affair. After that, in the post about LeBron, I wrote that no one famous (even of the celebrities that are from Mississippi), ever comes to Mississippi except world-renown actor and native son, Morgan Freeman. Now Morgan Freeman has a scandal of his own, and one of epic proportions. Morgan Freeman - the man who played Joe Clark in "Lean On Me," who played Red in "The Shawshank Redemption," who played Lucius Fox in the Batman films, who played GOD himself in "Bruce Almighty" and its sequel, "Evan Almighty" - is dating his step-granddaughter, one E'Dena Hines, and seems to be planning to marry her once his divorce is finalized. No, you're not crazy. Neither am I. Do not adjust your computer screen. Instead, check out the full story <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/10/edena-hines-morgan-freema_n_229070.html">here</a>.<br />**Update: It has been reported that he doesn't plan to marry her. Note, however, that the affair was not denied when you check out that full story <a href="http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2009/07/morgan-freeman-denies-edena-hines-wedding-rumors/">here</a>.**<br />It's a mother effing shame, too. Here this dude is, the most visible Mississippian (who actually lives in Mississippi) and what does he do? Does he help us out of the stereotypes that have plagued this state (some of them rightfully so, but I digress)? No. He reinforce<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9ck9xq2uI/AAAAAAAAAI0/uriLQw0ky6Y/s1600-h/405c8_edena-hines-picture_381x451.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9ck9xq2uI/AAAAAAAAAI0/uriLQw0ky6Y/s200/405c8_edena-hines-picture_381x451.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368111070976858850" border="0" /></a>s them. Of course, the state of Mississippi is in what is referred to as the "Deep South." One of the things that people <span style="font-style: italic;">think</span> we do around here is get our incest-ridden relations on. I have never kissed a cousin and never even had sinful thoughts about a family member, thank you very much. However, the stigma remains. Now there's evidence to support the misconception. Now they can cite Mississippi's own version of Samuel L. Jackson as a culprit. It gets worse, however. This chick is his step-granddaughter, but she was raised as his actual granddaughter, meaning she likely thought of him just like she would a biological grandfather and probably even called him "Granddad." They may not be getting married, but it still seems that he went from <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Grand Pop"</span> to <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Don't Stop."</span> Is it really okay to practice PDA with family or with those that we consider family? No, there's no actual bloodline. I know. However, if you ask me (and by reading this blog, you're asking me), it's <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">all</span> freaky and nasty - no matter how one chooses to slice it.<br /><br />*Side note -Speaking of family members or those who consider each other family practicing PDA, isn't it funny that Lil' Wayne wishes that he could <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">F</span> every girl in the world, yet he only wishes that he could <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">KISS</span> Baby aka Birdman? Just a thought.*<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9c9C4glyI/AAAAAAAAAJE/Qn3WA7IiBes/s1600-h/lil-wayne-kissing-baby.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9c9C4glyI/AAAAAAAAAJE/Qn3WA7IiBes/s200/lil-wayne-kissing-baby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368111484664583970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Anyway, it gets worse, <span style="font-style: italic;">yet</span>. Freeman is 72. Hines is 27. Once again, do not adjust your computer screen. It just so happens that if you should put his age in reverse, you come up with her age. That's a <span style="font-style: italic;">completely new</span> twist on the phrase, "opposites attract." That's not all, friends. It's gets worse, <span style="font-style: italic;">still.</span> He's been sleeping with the girl since she was 17. He was 62 then. Come on, Mr. Clark! You're <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9d_8oo-VI/AAAAAAAAAJU/mDKHjfI2aJg/s1600-h/viagra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9d_8oo-VI/AAAAAAAAAJU/mDKHjfI2aJg/s200/viagra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368112634038647122" border="0" /></a>supposed to educate the kids, not deflower and satisfy them. She must've 'leaned on him' a little too hard. All this from a man who played the detective who saved the kidnapped women in "Kiss The Girls?" Too bad he was kissing the girls himself. As for Ms. Hines, is it really that hard to find a man in Mississippi? Of course not, I'm single. I <span style="font-style: italic;">know</span> the population of whatever town she's from had younger and more appealing men than Morgan Freeman to offer a 17 year old. This is like a low-budget sequel to "The Color Purple" or something. And until Morgan Freeman does right, everything he <span style="font-style: italic;">thinks</span> about is gonna crumble.<br />I'd just like to say that I blame Hugh Hefner, Viagra, and Woody Allen (hey, maybe Morgan and his step-granddaughter can get with Woody and his wife/stepdaughter and double date?) for this as well. Is there really any love in this <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9eUXaN99I/AAAAAAAAAJk/e4QQH6Eak54/s1600-h/hugh-hefner-picture-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9eUXaN99I/AAAAAAAAAJk/e4QQH6Eak54/s200/hugh-hefner-picture-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368112984823298002" border="0" /></a>relationship? Does he look at her and see anything more than, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9eJ2DJieI/AAAAAAAAAJc/QnsOUu-_sZE/s1600-h/woody+allen+and+wife.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9eJ2DJieI/AAAAAAAAAJc/QnsOUu-_sZE/s200/woody+allen+and+wife.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368112804069476834" border="0" /></a>dare I say, a "new model?" Just a younger, slimmer, finer young thing for him to fulfill his fantasies with? Seriously, the guy did star in the film, "The Bucket List." How do we know that a twenty-something wasn't on his? Does she look at him and see anything more than the Hollywood lifestyle, red carpets, riches, stability, security? The fact of the matter is that it isn't my business. But why so young and so close to home? When you look at <a href="http://wonderwall.msn.com/movies/cindy-crawford-in-a-bikini--then---now-1519325.story?GT1=28135#m=rJLBieZb0V7">Cindy Crawford</a> still doing her thang at 43, you know that younger doesn't always necessarily mean better. Plus, she's your step-granddaughter. Seriously, I know there's no blood connection - but she's family. Family-on-family love is good. Family-on-family <span style="font-style: italic;">sex</span>, however, is a no-no. Period. Plus, when his age is factored into the equation, it makes one think that if he keeps getting his freak on with baby girl, she'll be the death of him - literally. I can hear the interviews n<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9eyjKv6KI/AAAAAAAAAJs/327m3B-S_7E/s1600-h/the_color_purple1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9eyjKv6KI/AAAAAAAAAJs/327m3B-S_7E/s200/the_color_purple1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368113503375714466" border="0" /></a>ow. Just like another scene from "The Color Purple."<br /><blockquote>"How'd he die?"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9fB9rvm2I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/3D0ildw7lgU/s1600-h/mfreeman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sn9fB9rvm2I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/3D0ildw7lgU/s200/mfreeman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368113768191466338" border="0" /></a><br />"On top of me."</blockquote>What a tragedy it will be if the great, accomplished, and storied life of Morgan Freeman is muddled in the press and in our memories by his freaky family frolicking. He'll be following in the footsteps of people like Michael Jackson, James Brown, Frankie Lymon, and other black celebrities by having his estate, family, and memory enshrouded in controversy (shout out to Bernie Mac for being a family man who went out far too soon, but nevertheless did so with dignity). Sounds like a libido lynching waiting to happen.Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792446847351933891.post-14648065723499719942009-08-06T15:23:00.000-07:002009-12-17T14:02:45.234-08:00"Rappers and Hoopers, We Strive to Be Like"The title is a Common reference, for those of you who didn't already catch it. It's a line from "The Corner," the first single off his 2005 album, and one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time if you ask me, "Be."<br /><br />There's a lot to be said about the fact that many of us try to emulate and mimic the images that we see on TV. Probably most prominently, these images include "rappers and hoopers." So here's the issue: When these individuals do things that cause themselves to be seen in a negative light, there is a negative message sent to the imitators and emulators - also known as young people. Case in point:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sntc1dJxY8I/AAAAAAAAAIU/pF8b1DnGFX0/s1600-h/J%5B1%5D.R.+hands+up.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sntc1dJxY8I/AAAAAAAAAIU/pF8b1DnGFX0/s320/J%5B1%5D.R.+hands+up.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366985454370513858" border="0" /></a><br />J.R. Smith, or J.R. "Swish", as his teammates and fans call him, has been raising eyebrows over the past few days because of a recurring habit on his Twitter page. He's been quite noticeably replacing all the Cs in words with Ks. Now I'm not a gangsta, but gangsta mentality has infiltrated popular culture to the point that you have to be way out of touch not to realize what this peculiar spelling signifies. Let me put it simply: He's spelling these words the Blood way. That's Blood as in the two rival gangs, <a href="http://unapologetictruth.blogspot.com/2009/07/red-and-blue-indeed.html">Crips vs. Bloods.</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">They refuse to use Cs because C is the first letter of Crip, of course.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">** </span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">But there are other words that begin with Cs as well, like cash. I'm guessing the Bloods refer to it another way, or use a K. Isn't it funny that Bloods, who are a mostly Black gang, have so much hatred for the Crips, another Black gang, that they would rather refer to them with the letter K? A letter, mind you, that when used in threes (KKK) signifies the ultimate hatred of minorities altogether? **</span><br /><br />Anyway, the Denver Post brought it up that his misspellings seem to be of a gang-related nature. Must've been a slow news day, that's all I can tell ya. Smith has since deleted his Twitter account for good. Check out the full story <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/J-R-Smith-shuts-down-Twitter-account-amid-contr?urn=nba,180969">here</a>.<br />Well, well, well. Many of these guys came straight from high school or had only minimal college. It's obvious the league doesn't care so much about their education, yet they aren't allowed to misspell words on their own Twitter pages? Good Lord.<br />They are role models as I said earlier, so it's not like I would defend such a bad example. I'm simply curious as to whether or not it ever occurred to any of the sports writers or anyone else at the Denver Post or otherwise that (gasp) the Brotha might simply like the letter K! I'm not a J.R. Smith fan (or a Nuggets fan, for that matter - even though the color of the text in this blog may make it seem otherwise) and have seen his on-court antics and am aware that they are enough to make one wonder as to whether or not he is gang-affiliated. It's not something the kids should look up to or try to be. At the same time, there are worse ways to show one's gang affiliation then to misspell a word. If he's gang-banging on Twitter, he's not really a gangsta. Leave it at that. The Denver Post staff might need to get some writing done instead of spending all of their office hours on Twitter in the first place. But wait, there's more.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sntjk29STjI/AAAAAAAAAIc/LgvVbXbVt8o/s1600-h/DRoseGangSigns.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/Sntjk29STjI/AAAAAAAAAIc/LgvVbXbVt8o/s320/DRoseGangSigns.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366992865821085234" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SntmJ6UlRQI/AAAAAAAAAIk/SknxyC9T6g0/s1600-h/cooley+high+movie+poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HtdQTOjmiBQ/SntmJ6UlRQI/AAAAAAAAAIk/SknxyC9T6g0/s200/cooley+high+movie+poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366995701402518786" border="0" /></a>This whole thing is eerily similar to what happened earlier in the summer to Derrick Rose. The very same Derrick Rose who was named Rookie of the Year last season, and who led the Bulls to a Game 7 against the then-defending champs, the Boston Celtics. A picture of him was spotted in which he was throwing up gang signs. These particular signs belong to the Gangster Disciples, or GDs. They're in the Midwest, Chicago mainly. Ironically, they were started by Larry Hoover, who was born in Jackson, MS - a mere 45 minute drive from my hometown of Vicksburg. They usually wear all black and their caps are usually to the side (so straighten yours up if you're headed to the Windy City) and if you've seen the cult classic movie "Cooley High," they are the ones who killed Cochise.<br /><br />Rose <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/11/derrick-rose-gang-sign-ph_n_214590.html">denied the affiliation</a> although he grew up in Chicago and the gang is pretty prominent in his neighborhood. Is he telling the truth, or is it now unsafe for him to go home? Beyond that, what is the message that is being sent to us from the "rappers and hoopers?" That it's somehow honorable to engage in illegal activity that endangers the community and causes the deaths of so many young minority urbanites? Even if these guys were from that life, they have progressed to a point that they no longer have to live that reality and should be grateful and stay out of trouble to ensure that they never go back. How backwards has our society really gotten if they are doing the opposite? If these guys need a family and a set to claim, they have it. The logo and team name on their jerseys is the only family they should need. Last I checked, gangs don't pay millions of dollars to their members.<br /></div>Chris J the Geniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567125295358098115noreply@blogger.com0